Ferguson, Missouri and Oakland, California

I hate that this was so predictable. Tonight the grand jury announced that they would not indict the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown.

Meanwhile in Oakland, there’s protesting that seems to have turned into vandalism, broken windows, and bonfires.

As I type this, it seems that there’s a large group that is blocking the freeway. I don’t really think that’s such a big deal, but it’s gotta be frustrating to anyone who might be stuck in traffic trying to get home.

Of course this is a big deal in Oakland because of the long history of police officer misconduct and brutality in Oakland.

And the precedent in Oakland is that a group gathers to peacefully make their point known, and at some point, it turns into this situation where damage and destruction begin. It’s actually not this bad this time. But every time this happens, most of the people who are arrested are not from Oakland. I wish they would stay home and break their own stuff.

I believe in demonstrating. I believe that people have a right to be upset, and it makes perfect sense. This is not an isolated incident.